Descent to Shadows (MadaraIzuna)
by KatsuNoJutsu95
Summary: There were once five of us brothers. From a young age, I had sworn to protect them all and later the entire Uchiha clan along with them. But now I see fate was against me, for it seemed the more power I had gained to protect them, the more I lost them. Madara and Izuna's completed backstory, with pairings MadaxIzu and HashiMada.
1. DtS Part 1: 5 Brothers

**Disclaimer:** All Naruto© characters and original plot story is owned by Masashi Kishimoto©. Shin, Shirowa, Inari and Kurowa are my own characters created to expand Kishimoto's original works.

 **Genre:** Ninja, Drama, hurt/comfort, BS.

 **Rating:** M. Chapters rated MA 18+ will be separately advertised as so.

 **Author's note:** I will use Japanese words commonly known to the English fandom in times I deem suitable to help to try and keep the Japanese feel.

This - ~~~*~~~ denotes a time skip.

 **Prologue:**

There were once five of us brothers. Shin, Shirowa, Inari, Izuna and myself, Uchiha Madara. From a young age, I had sworn to protect them all and later the entire Uchiha clan along with them. But now I see fate was against me, for it seemed the more power I had gained to protect them, the more I lost them. I am not one to reminisce and live in the past, but it would have been better if I had died by Hashirama's hand that day… The peace-lover just couldn't kill me!

 **Part One:** Five Brothers.

Cling, Clang, Ching. Aaaaggggghhhh! Thud. "Niiiiii-saaaaaan!"

"You'll pay for this Senju! Katon!" Inari yelled in outrage. His small young voice growling as he charged enough chakra for the most Phoenix flower fireballs he could make. He was currently limited to 10 fireballs, however, this was enough to take out the young enemy Senju ninja.

Huff… Huff… "Hang in there brother, we'll get you a medic," Inari spoke between breaths after defeating the enemy Senju. He was kneeling beside his youngest brother, Shin, who lay clutching his stomach from a deep stab wound. "Izuna! Someone! I need a medic!" He pleaded loudly, hoping to be heard over the noise of battle cries and clanging of dozens of katana, blows of water, fire and other styles of Jutsu. To his dismay, no one came running.

"I-I don't…" Shin said softly, his voice shaking slightly, trying to keep his older brother calm.

"Where's… Shiro…wa..?"

Shin Uchiha was the youngest of 5 brothers born to Tajima Uchiha, Madara, Izuna, Inari, Shirowa and himself. In an era with the constant war among ninja clans, anyone who could fight was forced to fight, including children from the mere age of 5 years old. War was not just a regular event, but it had become a lifestyle, a way to make a living. Clans that did not have the manpower to fight out their own problems with another clan hired an allied clan to fight for them; in other words, clans were paid to fight. The Uchiha were regarded as one of the best fighting clans in the ninja world and the only other clan that could equal them were the Senju clan. As a result, the Uchiha and Senju fought each other frequently. Shirowa, Shin's older twin had always been the most supportive of his younger brother. He always had to help Shin in training when Shin could not keep up when Madara, Izuna, and Inari powered on ahead. It wasn't entirely his fault either…. their father Tajima pushed them all hard in their training, despite their age differences, in hopes that they would all learn quickly through experience. The two brothers were rarely separated from each other, except this time were they had become separated in battle.

"Stop talking, save your energy!" Inari retorted.

"…I…" Shin began hyperventilating and losing blood too fast.

"IZUNAAA!" Inari cried out at the top of his lungs. "Medic! Someone get me a medic!" Inari yelled again into the forest where the Uchiha and Senju clan members were scattered around fighting each other. Very shortly, this time, Izuna came rushing to their sides. His face his shock at the state of his youngest brother.

"Hurry take Shin to get help!" Inari pleaded. Izuna Uchiha was their second eldest brother, so he was stronger than all of his other younger brothers in both strength and experience. Izuna immediately understood that he had a greater chance of taking Shin out of the battlefield alive than Inari had. Without hesitation, he picked up his injured brother and fled. 'Mother might be able to save him if I got back home fast enough'. Izuna thought to himself.

"SHIN!" Shirowa jumped in the branches after Izuna. Izuna turned to see his other brother and stopped. "Hey is he- ugh!" The younger Uchiha had not seen a trip wire on the previous branch. A flock of kunai and senbon needles rained down on the helpless Uchiha.

"SHIROWA!" Izuna yelled. I can't carry him too! If I stay here they both die. If I leave, Shin might live but Shirowa still dies! What do I do? What do I do! "MADARA! TAJIMA!" Izuna called, hoping that either his older brother or his father would come to the sound of his voice and find Shirowa to help him. With his mind made, Izuna continued to run.

Before long, Izuna noticed the amount of pain Shin was suffering and just how much blood he was losing. Izuna stopped as soon as he was clear of the battlefield and placed his brother carefully down on the ground. "What are you doing?" Shin asked weakly.

"You are bleeding too much, I need to put this on if you are to make it home alive." Izuna pulled out a roll of bandages and began wrapping it around Shin's torso. He didn't bother lifting the shirt for now. Time was not on his side even for first aid. People frequently died from organ punctures and deep infections rather than the surface contamination, so first aid was rarely taught anyway. Once the wound was wrapped up, Izuna continued to sprint on home with Shin.

Sobbing was the first sound heard when Tajima and the remaining brothers returned home a day later. Their mother wordlessly pointed to the direction of the bedroom and looked away. The brothers entered the room and found Shin lying on his mattress with a white cloth placed over his head. Izuna was kneeling over him morning quietly. His eyes were red and puffy and he had a streak of dry tears down his cheeks.

Izuna looked up slowly. Then exclaimed when he only counted two brothers. "Where's Shirowa?!"

Madara and Inari looked at each other. "He didn't make it," Madara replied.

"Tch! He shouldn't have died!" Izuna looked back down at Shin in disgust. Inari stood eyes wide and jaw hanging open. He had tried to follow Izuna home but had not been able to from Senju ninja intercepting him, forcing a fight upon him. He raced to Shin's other side opposite to where Izuna was kneeling.

"Brother… no, it can't be!" He held his brother's shoulders and shook them. "Not you too! Not you too! WHHYYY! You were supposed to live!" Inari wailed on, his words becoming slurred.

Madara, the eldest Uchiha son looked up at his father and noticed he didn't seem to be faltering.

"What do we do now father?"

Tajima kept his eyes on his youngest son as he spoke calmly.

"Tonight we give both Shirowa and Shin a proper burial. Then from now on we all stick together in battle, is that understood?" He announced to all of his remaining sons, who all nodded solemnly in reply.

"Father?"

"Yes, Madara?"

"Will you make the one who did pay? Will you kill him like they did our brother?"

"I will make sure they get their vengeance. You don't need to worry about that, now go get some sleep, the rest of you."

Madara made sure Izuna and Inari were asleep before he left. There was no way he could sleep peacefully tonight. Izuna and Inari were only asleep because they had exhausted themselves crying until they passed out. Madara slid the door closed as quietly as he could manage. He then jumped off through the trees to river nearby. The moon was full and bright, casting silver light in its wake. The young Uchiha child's shadow was almost completely eradicated. Madara reached the pebbled shores, grabbing a pebble and ditching down as hard as he could onto the other pebbles. The pebble hit the edge of the stream with a small splash and the flowing water continued on uninterrupted. Madara starred at the point where the pebble had entered, his eyes mesmerised by the flowing water.

It calmed down his rage... He stayed there staring at the silver water until he felt too tired to remain awake and he headed home again.

The battle with the Senju continued on. Tajima's strategy of having his sons battle in a closer group had been working well and Tajima was able to help defeat any enemy Senju's if he saw they were going to strike a vital blow to any of his sons. This lasted until Tajima encountered his rival Butsuma Senju. They were so like-minded that every battle they fought against each other ended up in a draw.

"So we meet again, Tajima!" Butsuma announced. He scanned the family."And you don't have all of your sons with you." He noted.

"Ignore them, you are fighting me," Tajima stated. On that note, their clash began. During the battle Butsuma considered Tajima's words, sparking an idea. He would try and foil Tajima by using killing another one of his sons. Butsuma pulled out a handful of shuriken and aimed above Tajima's shoulder, purposely missing. What is this all of a sudden? Tajima thought to himself. He returned the attack with fire style attack in which Butsuma easily dodged and used the dodge as an opening to jump towards the nearest Uchiha son. Without any hesitation, he threw multiple kunai down at the unsuspecting child.

"Inari!" Tajima threw his own kunai to intercept Butsuma's hitting all but one. One was all it took.

"Inari!" Madara, who was also nearby, called out. The eldest brother inspected his brother and found the kunai square in the back of the neck. Inari had died instantly. Madara gritted his teeth in anger. At least he died without pain... but I can't forgive any Senju for this! He felt the chakra in his eyes changing suddenly. He had finally awakened his Sharingan!

"Water-style, water jet!" Butsuma called.

Tajima was fuming and quickly released a fire style attack to counter the waterjet from Butsuma. A large, thick cloud of steam formed blocking sight completely from both directions. So this is how he planned to kill me? Tajima thought. Butsuma cut down through the steam with his long sword, but thanks to the Sharingan and experience Tajima blocked the attack time. Izuna overheard the commotion, quickly finishing his battle and jumped over to Madara, who had turned off his Sharingan again.

"No Inari! Not you too!" He sobbed. "Why? WHY?!"

Madara picked his limp brother, taking him home so they could bury him alongside his other brothers.

That evening, Madara made his way over to the river again, after putting his only remaining brother Izuna, to bed. He had started coming down to the river during any spare time he had. Every time, he picked up a pebble and ditched it into the river. After a while, he started skipping the stones to take his mind off the war, aiming to reach the other side. He then spent the rest of the time sitting and staring at the flowing water.

Madara felt something brush his shoulder and quickly snapped out of his trance. He jumped to his feet and whipped out a kunai in a battle stance ready to fight.

"Brother?"

"Izuna?! Oh, geeze don't scare me like that. I don't want to accidentally kill you too."

Izuna's outstretched hand was shaking in shock. He didn't mean to scare his brother like that. Madara put his kunai back away and sat down again. Izuna sat himself down beside him.

"We need to find a way to get stronger Izuna."

"But don't we need to unlock our Sharingan brother? Then we can do all sorts of things!"

"You are right Izu, we need to do whatever it takes to unlock the Sharingan! Then I can protect you, I swear my life against it! That is a promise."

Madara heard an unnatural rustling of bushes further down on the opposite bank.

"Let's go back home Izu. We're not alone here."

"Okay, brother."


	2. DtS Pt2:The boy with obnoxious neurosis

**Part two:** The boy with an obnoxious neurosis.

One of the times the Uchiha clan wasn't at war, Madara made his way back down to the river. He had decided to really brush up on his stone skipping and reach the other side once and for all!

It will reach this time, I just have to keep trying again and again! I won't give up. I am beating adults in combat, I have to be able to skim a stone across a river! I haven't been trying hard enough that's all!

The young boy picked up a smooth stone and threw it like he would a shuriken. Flicking his wrists and letting the stone roll off his middle finger. Again and again, the stone fell a foot short of the opposite bank. The water not caring that there was another pebble to its rock collection.

Huh…? It didn't reach again? My shuriken throw is perfect… The best in my clan in fact… Tch, this time, I will reach the other side for sure! Madara told himself, just like he had done many times before. Before he prepared his stance to throw another pebble flew past fast from behind him over his shoulder. It hastily skimmed the surface all the way to the other side of the river, even bouncing a little before it came to rest on dry land.

"Just aim a little higher than you would expect. That's the trick." A lighter voice spoke from behind him. Madara turned with a glare to see a boy his age with short straight brown hair and an unwavering smile.

"I don't need you to tell me that. I can reach the other side if I want to." Madara retaliated proudly. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"For now, I am just you rival at stone skipping and I am the winner." The boy replied smugly.

This annoying kid may actually be worth something... Madara thought to himself, picking up slight interest.

"I asked who you are!" Madara growled.

"It's Hashirama." The boy replied, his grin not once leaving his face to Madara's scowls. "I can't tell you my last name, due to reasons..."

"Hashirama eh? Well, just watch! I am going to make it this time!" The Uchiha stomped into position and threw his stone. The stone was much slower than Hashirama's and lazily sunk a foot before the shore again. Gobsmacked and slightly embarrassed, Madara quickly thought up an excuse.

"Hey! You stood behind me on purpose as a distraction!" The Uchiha pointed aggressively and the unsuspecting new kid. "I am the type that can't even pee when someone is standing behind me!"

Madara continued.

"S-sorry!" the brunette cowed.

To Madara's surprise Hashirama actually took the offence, a sat down in a sulk. He didn't think he had actually gone too far, his brothers usually argued back to him…

"Hey, no need to take it so seriously." Madara blinked, cooling off after blowing some steam. He was only messing around anyhow. "Ehh… sorry, I was just making excuses." He sighed, apologising for something so trivial felt weird.

"I-I didn't know…" Hashirama sniffed and looked up, "…that you had such an obnoxious self-diagnosed neurosis."

Okay, that was uncalled for! "Hey, brat! I can't tell if you are a nice or nasty guy!"

Hashirama sprang up laughing like someone had flicked a switch and all of his worries were gone. Or Hashirama was one seriously talented prankster.

"Well, one thing for sure – I am a better stone skipper than you!"

"Do you want me to skip you instead?!" Madara had no idea how to handle this kid. Hashirama was a piece of work.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you!" Hashirama sat back down on the ground again. "To make amends I will let you throw me into the river."

What is up with this guy? Madara was seriously getting confused and it was beginning to piss him off for real.

"Go ahead, throw me…" Hashirama's soft voice sulked.

"Do you even notice you own obnoxious neurosis?" Madara lectured. He had stopped pointed and had his hands on his hips now.

"I just, hope I reach the opposite shore." What on earth, is he mocking me now?"The Uchiha finally snapped.

"You're a real eyesore! Get lost!" He yelled.

"Well then!" Hashirama stood up casually, stretching a little and turned to leave without a care in the world.

"Hey, wait a second!" the Uchiha grabbed Hashiama's shoulder to turn him back around.

"Which is it? Make up your mind." The brown haired boy asked. Eh?

Madara blinked, realising his unmade mind but dismissing it for there were now serious matters at hand. They both turned to see the body of a warrior drifting down the river.

"That's…" Hashirama ran on the water across to the warrior. Now, this really caught Madara's attention, for only someone who had learned chakra control could master walking on water.

"Are you a… shinobi?" He asked seriously.

Hashirama didn't respond immediately. He knew he had been caught and it had been a mistake to so carelessly reveal himself.

"This location will become a battlefield shortly. Go home." He replied. Providing no further details. The clan symbol was definitely that of the Hagomoro clan, who the Senju clan were currently enemies against alongside the terror of the Uchiha clan. "Sorry, but I have got to go."

And with that Hashirama began to jump off. "See you later, uh…"

"The name's Madara."

"Madara?"

"I am not proffering one's family name to a stranger… that's shinobi law."

"I knew it. You're a shinobi too."

 _As incompatible as we seemed, I felt Hashirama would make a suitable training partner. Nothing short of healthy competition._

When Madara returned to the river a few weeks later one evening, he found Hashirama sitting alone by the water's edge. Madara walked up to him quietly. The water was so clear, their reflections were almost perfect mirror images.

"Hey, it's been a while, uh, umm…" Madara began. Damn it, I already forgot his name, I look like a total noob…

"It's Hashirama." The brown haired boy sighed. Huh? What's with him? He's usually so over exuberant, something serious must have happened…

"What is it Hashirama? You seem awfully down." The Uchiha asked, concern in his voice. "What happened?"

"What's with you?" Hashirama tried deflecting the subject off of himself. "I'm fine."

'Che, so he's trying to brush me off that easily eh? I'll make him spit it out!'

"You liar, you can talk to me, you know."

"It's nothing."

"Come on tell me." 'This is like trying to talk to a wall…'

"No, I said it's nothing." Hashirama insisted.

"Hey stop dragging this out, I promise I will listen!" 'Or more like drawing blood out of a stone…'

"It's nothing really… nothing at all!" 'Now we are going around in circles…'

Hashirama finally looked up at Madara, tears streaming fresh down his face.

"Out with it!" Madara hit his boiling point again. Hashirama puppy eyes were shaking as he finally gave up the tough act.

'Eh? Is he seriously crying? Shinobi don't cry!'

"W-what's the matter?" He asked a tad scared.

Hashirama faced forward again and regained his breath.

"M-my little brother… died… I came to the river because I feel like all the haziness in my heart gets washed away as I stare at the water."

'Oh… He's just like me….'

"So that's what happened." It was a relief to finally have Hashirama trust him enough to tell him the truth.

"Your name's Madara, right? I wonder if you are like me."

"…."

'Yeah… a lot…' Madara internally agreed. He came to the river for exactly the same reasons. But he wasn't about to let up his shinobi or Uchiha pride for it.

"Do you have siblings?" Hashirama felt better with conversation.

"I am one of five. Well, used to." Madara picked up a stone off the bank again, tossing it in his hand and concentrating on the opposite shore. Hashirama in realisation that they were in fact as similar as he had suspected, turned around in shock to meet Madara's glare.

"Used to?"

'I'll show him how we are not supposed to cry over death!'

"We're shinobi. We never know when our time will come."

'Might as well tell him exactly what I think, if he rejects this then he is truly no different from all the other adults!'

"If there was a way where neither side would die, it would be where both sides revealed their insides and never hid anything from each other, and poured each other's drinks and drank together like brothers. But that's impossible!" Madara posed ready to throw his stone with the up most determination. "That's because no one can look deep enough into each other's insides down to each other's guts!" Madara threw the stone. "In reality, they may be as mad as hell." The stone flew strongly across the water's surface.

"Isn't it possible to really show how one's feeling without showing their guts?" Hashirama carefully asked.

"I don't know. But every time I come here, I pray for some way to make it happen." The stone hit the opposite shore forcefully, clanking to a halt on the other stones. "I finally got it to go in the right direction. You're not the only one. Me too. It reached."

'But he still looks like a weirdo old-timer, haha.'

"In your case, I can tell without looking into your insides…" Madara began,

"What?" Hashirama looked up confused and curious.

"That your hairdo and outfit are totally lame!" Madara joked, looking the other boy up and down and received as expected, a depressed reaction.

"Heh heh heh, say we catch up from time to time to spar?"

"Huh? Yeah, you're on! You'll be sorry you asked!"

"What? I could beat your scrawny ass anytime!"

"I'm really that scrawny?"

"You sure are, heh heh."

Hashirama continued to pout his lower lip.

 _From then we agreed to meet when we could to spar and compete. We talked about our future dreams, exploring all possible scenarios, without once ever asking each other's family names. The whole while I thought we only did just that, dreaming. No matter how much I prayed and we talked, I never really thought any of this would turn out to be true. I had seen so many hopeful shinobi die all the same as the ones fighting in fear. But for Hashirama's sake, I played along. He and I could not have been happier away from the battle zone than this. On my account, we agreed to learn as many Jutsu as possible to become strong enough if we were to back up our words, so we would be heard by the adults. For our words would be no more than noise if we had no power to match our spirits._


	3. DtS Part 3: Turn of the Tides

**Part three:** Turn of the tides.

Huff, huff, huff. Geeze he's fast… I so could have drawn or even won if we had a fair start!

"What an extensive view of the forest!" The brunette exclaimed in delight, holding his hand up over his eyes to shade them from the sun.

"Yeah, you can really see far!" Madara looked sideways towards Hashirama. 'Should I tell him? Eh making him guess with a challenge should do.'

"I know my eyesight is just as good as yours! Want to challenge me?"

"What makes you say that all of the sudden? You sound very proud of your eyes."

'Hehehe I have to tell him now!' "Well sure, I have the sha-" 'Wait, what am I doing? If he's a Senju or any other enemy, I can't tell him I have the Sharingan, he'll know I am an Uchiha right away, then I am done for!'

Madara averted his eyes to stare at the ground. If only we were free of this war, I could share my thoughts more freely.

Hashirama blinked in confusion. What was he about to say? "What's the matter?"

"Never mind… I guess it's not like that…"

"What is it? You are being awfully candid for once, you can tell me." The brunette urged.

"If I were better my siblings wouldn't be dead, I couldn't even protect them… So I shouldn't" 'tell you….'

"Madara…" 'If only you could talk to me, just how I do with you.' Hashirama thought.

"That stone is perfect for rock skipping. Keep it for the when we meet again."

Madara flipped his stone into the air on his walk back home. He was surprised to see Izuna coming out to greet him. "Oi, hey Izuna, what's the matter?"

"Brother, its father, he wants to talk to you, right away," Izuna spoke urgently.

"Oh?" Madara followed his younger brother home. When he entered the room his father was in, his father got straight to the point.

"Madara sit, you have been out a lot lately and with another boy I see."

"…" Madara remained silent. 'Just don't say anything, I can dig my way out of this somehow.'

"Don't fool with me Madara, I had Izuna tail you and identify that boy's clan." Tajima continued and waited patiently for his eldest son to respond.

Madara looked towards his brother sitting on his right. 'He didn't…'

"He's a Senju, brother," Izuna informed softly, with his still high voice.

"What?!" Madara exclaimed. 'Shit! This is bad! I have no way out of this!'

"There is no way that could be! He is so coy and annoying there is no way he could kill someone, kids or adults!"

"Madara, the Senju killed your brothers! Do not ever forget that!" Tajima bellowed. "Now you know what this means."

"…" 'I can't see him again after this… for the sake of my family honour. Now I really wish our dream could come true.'

"The Uchiha and Senju are mortal enemies! I haven't told anyone else in our clan about this so that you are not branded a traitor. And to not be named an enemy spy, I want you to follow him the next time you see him." Tajima lectured.

"Maybe I won't see him again! Just like that!" The young Uchiha rebutted and Tajima inwardly sighed at the equal stubbornness of his eldest son.

"You will see him again to gain intel on the Senju's plans. If he notices you are following him, you are to kill him."

"Father!" Madara exclaimed in a last-ditch attempt to change his father's mind.

"This is your mission! And it will cost you your name as an Uchiha!" Tajima's words were final.

'Crap… knew it…I have to do this. I'll tell him we can't keep seeing each other, then that will be it. Sorry Hashirama… our dream won't come true.'

Madara looked at his knees while he thought this and clenched his knuckles. With a blink, he looked up with a stern face, his hesitation gone from his features. "Yes, father."

"Good, you're dismissed, but Izuna, you stay here."

"Yes, father." Izuna's small voice sounded.

Madara stood up and quietly left the room, though inside, he was furious. He walked outside into their family's courtyard, activating his Sharingan.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" In anger, he punched his fist against the wooden training post. His punch splintered the wood where his fist hit, leaving a dent. Cracks stretched in delay out from the dent along the length of the post. The post just managed to stay intact.

"If he weren't a Senju, then none of this would be a problem! I should have known! Gah!" He pulled out the skipping stone, staring at its perfection. "He was always better than me, in everything, by just a bit more!" The angry Uchiha threw the stone at the post, fully shattering it. He deactivated his Sharingan again as he still wasn't used to how much it drained away at his chakra.

"So that is why I always want to keep fighting you. I can't let you die, so I will save you, just this once." Madara calmly picked up the stone and pulled out a kunai from his back pocket. He etched a short but blunt message for the brunette,'run'. "That should do it."

When Madara had cooled off enough not to break anything more, he went to lay down on his bed early and stared up at the ceiling, losing himself in thought.

'Sigh…. Why does it have to turn out like this? Every time life becomes bearable, someone gets taken away. I really liked Hashirama too… Hopefully, he didn't realise how much… sigh, thinking like this won't help me forget about him. I have to be strong enough to protect Izuna from now on, and that means cutting all ties we had!'

"Oi brother, there you are! Been looking everywhere for you." A young voice chirped.

"Oh- hey Izuna." The older brother snapped out of his thoughts. He turned his head to see his younger brother standing directly in the doorway.

"It's time for dinner!" Izuna informed excitedly as if he had already forgotten all about the heavy burden his brother was faced with.

"Oh yeah… I won't be joining you tonight, I am not hungry." Madara turned back to stare up at the ceiling, finished with the conversation.

"You don't want father anymore angry with you…" Izuna pouted, his cheeks puffing up a little.

'Sigh… You are always right Izuna…' "… Fine… just smile for me will you?"

"Hehehehe." Izuna giggled like he had won some sort of victory.

"…" Madara reluctantly stood up and followed his brother back to the dining room where his parents were waiting.

"Thank you for the food." Madara bowed his head and excused himself from the table. He headed straight back to his room. Izuna watched him leave and hurried to finish his bowl of rice so he could follow his brother.

"Thankyouforthefood!" He exclaimed, setting his bowl down and dashing off.

"How are you feeling brother?" Izuna's small voice asked cautiously as he walked into the bedroom and sat down on his own mat.

"Izuna… I am fine."

"But tomorrow, you will do it won't you? You'll betray the Senju?"

"His name is Hashirama." Madara tried not snap at his brother, it wasn't his fault Madara had made friends with someone outside his own clan. He didn't expect Izuna to understand.

"Oh, but Hashirama is still the enemy brother."

"I know, that's why I am not going to betray our family or our clan."

"Haha, I knew you wouldn't!" Izuna pulled up his blanket and settled himself under the covers. "I won't be far behind you when something goes wrong."

"… Thanks, Izu, I can always count on you." Madara settled himself down under the covers too, but couldn't sleep right away. He was awake most of the night thinking about how he would break his ties Hashirama.

Madara awoke early the next morning, not realising at what point in his thoughts he had fallen asleep. He looked over to see Izuna was still sleeping. He slept so peacefully without a care in the world, unlike himself; he must have heard every bird ruffling its feathers…

By the time he had finished making breakfast, Izuna and Tajima had awakened and were joining him.

"Good morning brother," Izuna said slowly, half yawning.

"Morning…" Madara half-heartedly replied. Not much other conversation was held the rest of the morning until the trio were ready to leave. To the elder brother, the air was heavy.

Madara walked slowly in silence on his way to the river that day. He still wasn't fully decided on his wording to tell Hashirama yet exactly. Neither did he know if Hashirama was even going to show up. Plenty of times he had gone to the river and Hashirama had not always been there. Eventually, as the pebbled shores came into view, he decided he wouldn't think about it too much and just let his instincts do all of the talking.

He was surprised to see Hashirama was there waiting for him already and almost stopped walking. He wasn't truly ready, but the Uchiha didn't let his surprise show for long. Remembering his father and younger brother hid not too far behind, he blanked his features and thought of something to say. Acting normal is the least suspicious.

"I know this is right off the bat, but how about we skip our stones instead of exchange greetings today?"

Hashirama was standing rather tensely and seemed to relax a fraction at the offer. They pulled out their stones and skipped them over. Cautiously they checked the stones to make sure there was no message, for Madara was still hesitant inside on his next move.

There were etchings on Hashirama's stone and they wrote:

'Trap! Scram!'

Shit, they had trailed me too! Well, thanks to that I have an idea to get out of here without the both of us dying.

The young Uchiha raised his free hand up in the air to wave goodbye. "Hashirama, I can't stay today, I remembered I have something to do!"

Back in the bushes Izuna and Tajima realised Madara wasn't going to keep his word, despite the pride of his family and clan. 'Oh no, brother!'

'What are you doing son?!'

Hashirama didn't reply for a moment as he registered what was being said to him.

"O-oh yeah? I am going home too then, see ya!" Hashirama nervously followed suit, waving back and slowly turning to walk off.

'This is it, our chance!' When their backs were fully turned then jumped up to the branches, taking off at full speed.

To the young Uchiha's surprise, his father and younger brother dashed past him after Hashirama.

'No! They're not supposed to attack! Shit! What? Hashirama's father and brother had the same plan. Now they're going to –'

"Stop!" Madara and Hashirama both yelled at the same time. 'They're not listening… I have to save Izuna at all costs, no matter what!' The young Uchiha saw Butsuma's kunai flying towards Izuna.

'If I don't block this kunai, Izuna will die exactly like Inari did that day. I can't let that happen, I am stronger than I was before!'

Madara threw the only item he had in his inventory; the skipping stone; striking hard, high and fast. It hit dead on and the kunai and stone sunk into the river. Hashirama had done the same thing and protected his own younger brother Tobirama. The boys both jumped forward in front of their relatives.

"I'll never forgive anyone who tries to harm my little brother. No matter who they are!"

"Same here!" Hashirama retorted bluntly.

'Thanks, Hashirama, you may not know it but you made me leaving you a lot easier. I have no regrets now.'

"Hey, Hashirama?"

"What is it?" Hashirama's tone wasn't as patient as it usually was.

'There's no avoiding it, it's now or never.' "Maybe it is just impossible for us to reach that pipe dream of ours."

"Madara… what are you saying?"

"It may have been brief, but I enjoyed our time together, I had fun, Hashirama." 'Please forgive me.'

"It's three against three, can we take them on, Madara?" Tajima enquired.

"No, Hashirama is stronger than me, if we fight we lose." 'Tch, I never won anything once except verbally.'

Izuna gasped in disbelief, "there's a kid stronger than you brother?"

"I see, quite impressive," Tajima commented.

"Let's retreat; so long." Madara turned to leave, his back against Hashirama's last ditch efforts to believe in his dream. Hahirama called out desperately. "You… really haven't given up, have you? You've gotten to the same point I – "

"You are a Senju." Madara's voice turned cold and activated his Sharingan. "I truly wish it wasn't so." 'Now it doesn't even matter that I show him, he knows I am an Uchiha, I show him just how proud of my eyes I really am.' "My brothers died from the Senju, and you the Uchiha." This is for you, Shin, Shirowa and Inari. "So there's no need to show our guts to each other. Our next meeting will likely be on the battlefield, Senju Hashirama. I … am Uchiha Madara."

Madara turned to reveal his crimson eyes. Since the months ago he had unlocked his ocular power, he had never told anyone. He wanted Hashirama to be the first to know. Even if this wasn't the circumstances he had imagined.

"Hey, father! Look at big brother's eyes!" Izuna couldn't contain his excitement, despite the fact he shouldn't be displaying any emotion on the battlefield.

"Yes, we may not have obtained any intel on the Senju's plans, but it seems we may have obtained something else valuable after all," Tajima replied positively. He was proud one of his sons had both lived long enough and were lucky enough to inherit the Uchiha clan's most proud kekkeigenkai.

"He awakened his Sharingan… just now?" Butsuma Senju asked aloud.

Hashirama didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think he was the reason his best friend had awaken his clan's kekkeigenkai. He stood there staring into those ruby orbs, with no more words left to say.


	4. DtS Part 4: Izuna Uchiha

**Part 4:** Izuna Uchiha

"Izuna, IZUNA!"

"Yes, brother?!" The younger Uchiha ran outside to see what his older brother was so excited about.

"Hahaha! You need to awaken your Sharingan, I can feel it, its power! Izu, this Sharingan is only the beginning of my new strength!"

"How do I awaken my Sharingan brother?" Izuna asked curiously, with obvious excitement in his voice.

"This may be hard for you Izuna, but you need to turn against a friend."

"Huh? So you are not friends with Hashirama anymore brother?"

"No, he and I are different now, I can't chase my dream with him as my friend. He will only hold me back."

"Oh…"

Madara grabbed his brother's shoulders, "listen to me, you know your friend Kurowa?"

"…uh"

"Are you listening Izu? Kurowa Uchiha, you can't be friends with him anymore. Cut your ties with him and you will awaken your Sharingan."

"Yeah, but… how do I do that Madara?"

"Tch… doesn't matter how!" Madara growled then realised he was scaring Izuna. He took a deep breath and toned his voice down and smiled gently. "Just do it for me and you will get stronger, I promise you."

"Oh okay big brother, I will try."

 **Izuna's POV**

I have to get stronger for nii-san! Izuna thought to himself. He was nervous, as the second eldest brother ran off to find his friend. He had been to his friend's place many times, but today time seemed to have slowed down. He was running the same pace as always but it seemed to take longer today. When he finally made it he rapped on the front door, he dreaded who would open it. Izuna was relieved to see it was Kurowa's mother. "Hey Izuna, did you need something?"

The young Uchiha gulped, "Do you know where Kurowa is?"

"Oh he's not here, he's out training, sorry, but you'll have to go look for him."

"Thanks!" That was all Izuna needed, he knew exactly where his friend trained. He hurried over and found him.

"Kurowa!"

"Oh, hey Izuna! Huh?" Izuna had whipped out a kunai to his friend's throat.

"W-what are you doing?!" Kurowa asked in a nervous surprise.

"I can't be friends with you anymore! So stay away from me!" He forced on his best glare.

"Izuna, stop fooling around, you could kill me with that!"

"I am serious!" He growled childishly, the kunai bit Kurowa's skin and blood began to trickle along the blade. Why is it not working? His hand holding the kunai began to shake as he gripped the blade handle so hard his knuckles were going white.

"Knock it off, you are being weird!" He backhanded Izuna's face and hand in one swoop. "And plus that hurt! I am not the enemy here!" In defeat and annoyance that his plan didn't work, Izuna ran off back home. The young Uchiha tried to think of another way to break his bond. 'Why couldn't I do it? I won't be strong like big brother if I can't break my bond with a friend! Madara will be angry at me, who knows what he will do if I can't follow him! Tch!'

"Hey wait-! Where are you going? Izunaaa!" Kurowa called out after his friend, utterly confused by the encounter.

"Back off!" Izuna turned and yelled, and whipped out a kunai again for extra emphasis.

"What's going on with you?"

"...

I need to get stronger," with that said Izuna dashed off again.

Izuna reached home shortly, panting hard from sprinting all the way there and back. He took off his shoes and placed them by the door before he entered quietly. Izuna didn't want to let Madara know he was home yet, to avoid discussing his sorry failure. He walked into the kitchen to fetch some food to eat, then sat down at the dining table to contemplate his next move to awaken his Sharingan.

'Who else should I cut my ties with? Renji? Jun? If I set a trap, a non-lethal one, I can just leave him t–'

His thoughts were then interrupted by a loud coughing fit coming from his parent's bedroom and Madara rushing into the kitchen to grab a cup of water.

"Oi, Izuna you're home! Come help, father's ill." The older Uchiha called in passing.

"Uh, yes!" Izuna rushed to his feet and followed his brother to his father. He entered the bedroom to see his father coughing blood into a towel. Madara knelt beside Tajima and offered him the water.

"Father?! Is that blood?" Izuna gasped.

Cough "I am fine" Cough "Do not worry about me. If I am to die in battle because of this, you too are to protect each other at all costs… do you hear me, Madara? Izuna?" Tajima replied. His voice sounded sore and husky.

"Yes, father." The boys both replied in unison.

"Good. Remember to keep you friends close and your enemies closer and do not let your brother's deaths be in vain." He added as calmly as his inflamed throat would allow. Both sons nodded.

"Let's go Izu, we'll let father rest."

The brothers left quietly and closed the door behind them.

"Madara?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel like sparring for bit," Izuna said eagerly.

Madara chuckled softly, "sure, why not. Bukijutsu?"

"No, just plain old taijutsu."

The brother's headed out to their training courtyard behind their house, slipping on their shoes to protect their feet from the gravel. They stood about three paces apart facing each other and on

Madara's signal they started.

Izuna went in hard and fast taking his older brother by surprise. The younger punched and kicked high. Madara found himself forced to block Izuna's attacks straight up. However, the older Uchiha quickly adjusted to his younger brother's fast pace and returned the blows.

"Izuna, if you slow down a bit, your aim will be more precise," Madara commented during the sparring session.

"… I can't slow down."

"Why not?"

"You're not strong enough."

"Hey, what's this all of a sudden?"

"You admitted weakness against that Senju brother! You need to become stronger than him! And also if we are to survive without father!"

"Haha! We will become much stronger together, I will make sure of that."

"Can you promise that brother?"

"Che, Izu, don't worry. Now that I have the Sharingan, I won't be beaten easily!"

Ssw Madara activated his Sharingan, revealing a single tomoe on each scarlet iris.

I can see his movements better than before. "Izuna, come at me with everything you have got, I need to train these eyes!"

"Eh? But you just said not to…"

"Don't think, just do!"

"Right!"

The younger brother slowed down to a more sustainable pace to focus on his accuracy. Madara saw and countered every surprise move Izuna could think to pull on him. Good, this is excellent. The older Uchiha thought. I can easily win against Izuna now if I wanted to…

Madara ended the sparring session with a distraction and a surprise blow in Izuna's blind spot.

"Gah!" The younger brother fell to the ground, ending the sparring match. Huff, huff. "Those eyes are amazing brother! I can't wait to unlock my Sharingan."

Huff, huff. Zzw Madara deactivated his Sharingan. "Once you want to defend the Uchiha as much as I do, you will." The older brother held out a hand to pull his sibling up.

"If it means I become strong like you Madara!" The younger brother smiled, sitting up and taking his brother's hand. I see, next time for sure. I won't let big brother down!

Izuna fought alongside Tajima later in the next battle. After the death of his three younger brothers, Tajima was watching a closer eye on Izuna. His friend Kurowa had managed to find him on the battlefield and was trying to talk to Izuna during their fights.

"Hey Izuna, are you still mad at me?" Kurowa called between blows.

No response.

"Hey I don't know what I have done wrong but, I am still your friend!" He pleaded harder.

The young Uchiha tried hard to block out his friend and focus on his battles. He was facing a pair of twins about his age. One wields a katana while the other preferred throwing kunai and shuriken.

"Izuuunaaaa! Talk to me!" He parried off blows from the twin wielding the katana.

"I don't know what's going on between you two, but focus on the fight at hand Izuna! I cannot have you die on me too!" Tajima growled, then coughed.

On that note, Izuna gritted his teeth. He could not be seen wavering in front of his father. Izuna slashed as hard as he could down on his opponent's katana until they faltered and used that opening to slash down on the boy's side. "GAAHHH!" The tip of his blade scratching Kurowa's hand too who dropped his blade. Izuna finished the twin off with a stab in the heart. The remaining twin faulted. He was clutching his shuriken hard between his white knuckles. Yelling he ditched them at Izuna, who slashed them away. The ones he missed only caught the young Uchiha's clothes.

Izuna dashed at the boy and stabbed the second twin in the stomach. When the boy fell he retracted his blade and glared at Kurowa, who stared back in disbelief. He was clutching his bloodied hand tightly. Little did Izuna realise that his eyes were red with a newly awakened Sharingan with a single tomoe.

"I am leaving you behind to get stronger on my own with my brother Kurowa! I don't need friends like you anymore!"

The Sharingan faded as quickly as it had appeared. Kurowa barely spoke to his friend after that, it seemed Izuna wasn't going to listen to reason anymore.

Eventually, Tajima fell in battle as his illness became worse and prevented him from fighting as efficiently as he used to. Upon his death, Madara and Izuna buried him beside their brothers. Their mother cried heavily like they had never seen before. The younger brother felt another wave of deep dread during his father's wake and this time felt a stronger change of chakra behind his eyes.

"You did it Izuna!" Madara gasped in surprise. He had turned to face his younger brother to tell him it was time to leave his father's grave.

"Yeah…" Izuna replied absentmindedly.

"What's the matter?" The older Uchiha asked, slightly confused.

The younger dully replied. "I didn't realise how much sadness I would feel for it."

"Oh… It's all for the better to becoming stronger. You'll grow used to it driving you."

Madara leant over and gave his brother a hug, which Izuna eagerly returned.

"…"

"Boys, there is something I need to say." Their mother did not handle Tajima's death well at all.

"Yes, mother?" The Uchiha brothers replied in unison but remained holding each other.

"Now your father's gone I will be staying your aunt. You can come live with us if you wish or claim our house, I leave the choice up to you." With that, their mother left. The boys quietly followed behind until their paths diverged. Their mother headed towards their aunt's and they headed back to the house.


	5. DtS Part 5: The Mangekyo Sharingan

**(Warining: this chapter contains MadaxIzu yaoi, if you don't like please skip or don't read.)**

 **Chapter 5:** The Mangekyo Sharingan

Several years past and the Uchiha brothers were now in their early teens. The war had neither progressed nor eased. When the Uchiha won one battle, the Senju would win the next - it was mass slaughter. The brothers sparred every other day when they were not fighting. While honing their battle skills, they simultaneously matured their Sharingan to three tomoe.

The brothers returned from battle after another long day of combat. They unclipped their armour and set it inside of the front door. Madara wordlessly left to fetch a pale of water and some rags, while Izuna sat exhausted on the step that separated the front entrance from the rest of the house.

It was the same ordeal day in and day out. Fight all day, if you survived, return home clean your gear of muck and blood so it wouldn't rust; sharpen and resupply you utilities, then go out to fight again the next day.

Madara returned with the rag and casually threw it over to his brother who caught it effortlessly,

"Thanks." Izuna sighed as he began wiping down his armour. "We haven't become any stronger lately no matter how hard we have trained Madara."

"I have noticed that too," Madara replied wiping a large blood stain on the back of his armour.

"So I have been thinking, we may need to cut another tie again." The stain was persistent, so he scrubbed harder.

"Hmm, like when we first awakened the Sharingan, brother?" The younger Uchiha perked up a bit, not only did Madara agree, but he had already been manifesting a plan.

"Yes, although we may even have to sacrifice something greater than before." The stain finally cleared and his older brother moved on to check the rest of the suit.

"Like killing a friend, rather than cutting ties?" Izuna finished his armour quicker than usual and set that aside to wipe down his katana.

"Afraid so…"

"We can do this brother, we have to." The younger brother replied optimistically, whereas Madara still had a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Are you sure Izuna?"

"I am, I already know who I want to kill." The younger picked up his grinding stone and sharpened his blade.

"…" The older Uchiha had finished his armour and took a moment to set it down against the wall and gather his thoughts. He hadn't thought any further ahead on the matter. Besides, he would always see Izuna as his younger brother in need of protection. Hearing him eager to murder his best friend for their sake of greater power, reminded Madara of just how much Izuna had matured in the past couple of years. "The first night raid will commence in a few nights, we will do it then."

"Does that mean you have no intention of participating in the raid big brother?"

"I don't, we must guarantee our survival." Madara shifted to sit closer and held his hand up to hold his brother's cheek.

They were currently approaching the cooler months of winter and the days were becoming shorter while the nights were stretching longer. Battles were fought on into the darker hue of the night which was useful for the Uchiha brothers. The friendly fire could be blamed miss-identification of an enemy and night raids upon other villages were also increasingly common. The combination was perfect for the Uchiha brothers to carry out their plan without any suspicion from the other Uchiha.

"The raid will be against the Hoki clan, we have claims they stole a scroll containing valuable intel of our clan's strategies! We can't let that intel be disclosed to our enemies! You are to form groups of four and each team spread around the Hoki clan's settlement. We will strike from all sides at once! Do you hear me, brothers?!" A relatively young Uchiha called out from the upon a wide granite rock the Uchiha used as a stage. The man's name was Rai Uchiha and he had taken over Taijima's role of the Head of the Uchiha. He was chosen as one of the few members who had awakened the sharingan as a youth and still had the will to lead the clan into battle.

"Yeah!" The crowd of Uchiha roared in unison before dispersing into groups.

"I'll get my friend," Izuna mentioned to his brother and disappeared into the crowd. Madara had found his friend Fugi, before the meeting had started, so they waited for Izuna to return. Fugi

Uchiha was a slightly older individual with short sandy hair that stood straight up, defying gravity.

"Izuna? You want me to team up with you when we haven't spoken for years?" Kurowa exclaimed.

"Yeah I apologise for my behaviour, now will you come with me or not?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt. But what's gotten into you?"

"… I'll tell you if you survive the raid."

"Heh… you're as stubborn as ever Izu… You got a deal, I'll join you."

Madara perked up when he saw his younger brother return through the now groups of Uchiha. "Good you're back, let's go."

The team of four jumped the branches on the way to the Hoki clan's supposed location. The trees gradually thinned out and were replaced by a bamboo forest, territory known to the Hoki clan.

"It should be just up ahead, we should stop here," Fugi explained. Their group stopped by a boulder to rest and plan their next move.

"I'll go on and scout just ahead," Kurowa suggested and jumped off to climb a sturdy bamboo tree.

"Now Izu," Madara whispered to his brother.

"Huh?" Fugi went to question his friend but was met with a stiffened palm to the neck. "Ugh!" A few more blows from Madara left his friend beaten to death.

The cries were short-lived as the young man fell heavily chest first onto a pointed boulder.

"Y-you t-traitors!" Fugi stuttered in his last breath, his head rolling to one side.

Swoo, swoo, swoo!

Izuna released a rain of kunai on his unsuspecting friend dead in their back.

"Wha-? Ugh!"

Kurowa was less fortunate and had died instantly upon impact.

'It was rude of me I never told you the truth. But you did me two favours Kurowa. Be thankful you are no longer suffering in this world.' Izuna walked over to his older sibling, wearing a smug smile on his face. The tomoe of his illuminated Sharingan swirled around on his iris, merging and changing shape. When they stopped swirling, his tomoe had taken the shape of three blocks extending from the inner circle to the outer iris.

"Success brother."

Madara looked over to where he heard Kurowa's final cry. He was standing cockily with his thumbs wedged in the cloth tied around his waist like the feat had been mere child's play instead of cold-blooded murder.

"Indeed it was." The older brother's eyes had also evolved. His tomoe had now connected to each head to tail and formed a hollow in the head region. "Now we'll wait it out until the raid is over and head back with the rest of the Uchiha. It would be suspicious if they found we returned early," the older Uchiha continued.

The brothers found another clearing away from the murder scene in the bamboo forest to sit and wait.

"You got a little more excited than expected I see?" Madara commented noticing a slight rise in his brother's pants.

"It felt good this time, evolving our Sharingan. We are the first in Uchiha history to achieve this far! I can't wait to show the rest of the clan, we could over-throw Rai as clan leader!"

"Now that would be something to be proud of," Madara added, shifting to reach over to his brother.

"However that is issue for later, right now we have a more urgent matter to deal with."

Izuna's sly smile was quickly accompanied by a hot blush on his cheeks. He leant back against the bamboo shoot and spread his knees a fraction to allow his older brother more room. The unusual intimacy between the brothers had grown from always sticking together in their day to say lives; rarely separated for long. They even slept in the same room on their own beds in fear one would disappear during the night without the other knowing. Even when their sex drives had started to awaken during the past couple of years, they had little opportunity to hide it from each other. So they mutually agreed they wouldn't hide it since they couldn't.

"Ah, your hand is cold Madara!" Izuna whined.

"Sorry about that, give me a moment to warm up." The older Uchiha palmed his brother to allow more contact and friction from his hand.

"Nngh…" The younger Uchiha closed his eyes as his older brother's hand heated up and felt more pleasurable on him. Madara took that as a signal to continue properly and changed his grasp to stroke Izuna. "Ha, brother!" The younger sibling clenched his eyelids tighter and threw his head back against the bamboo. He was leaking now. Madara coated his fingers in his brother's slick and worked on him further into bliss. "Ha- ha- ha- Mada- I'm close."

The older brother formed his own sly smile as he finished his brother off. Izuna panted in the aftermath. "T-that was better than when I do it myself…"

"Che, course it was. I have seen how you do yourself." Madara wiped his hand as clean as he could for now on his own clothes.

"Heh, just because you're a year older than me that gives you so much more experience." Izuna chuckled sarcastically. "Next time you get off, it is my turn to give you a shot."

"Sounds fine to me."

The brothers returned home along with the rest of the Uchiha military, with the Uchiha scroll successfully reclaimed. As planned, no one noticed their absence in the raid or questioned the lie too long on the loss the fallen group members.

"My brother and I also have something more important to share," Madara stated, standing on the rock stage.

"We're listening," Rai replied bitterly, annoyed someone of lower rank was standing on 'his' podium.

"We have managed to evolve our Sharingan further than even known to the Uchiha clan," Madara announced. He and Izuna activated their Sharingan to reveal their personalised tomoe patterns.

"We call it the 'Mangekyo Sharingan'," the younger brother added.

"Woah." A harmonic of voices sounded, followed by murmuring among the clan.

"Madara and Izuna, our new leaders!" Someone called above the discussions.

"Hey wait!" Rai rebutted but was ignored.

"Yeah!" the men cheered.

"Yeah! Our new leaders!"

"Hn." Good, this is going better than I anticipated. Madara thought.


End file.
